Who Pays For Your Hobby?

Go to any showjumping fixture and its absolutely certain that someone will be overheard complaining about the prize money before the first class is even finished. Eventers are not as focused on the subject and dressage riders apparently even less so. As a topic of conversation, it's disappointingly prevalent and drawing on the years of experience of  Organisers and Secretaries at competitions in all of the major disciplines, showjumpers are reported to place more emphasis on prize money than on many other important aspect of a show.

However, for amateurs, isn't riding and competiting horses or ponies generally just a hobby? Days jobs enable us all to earn money and you can choose to spend what's left of your earnings, after life's essential bills are paid, on your hobbies.

If your hobby happens to be fell walking or fishing, you'll pay out for equipment, travel, clothing and whatever else is needed - but no-one would expect prize money for being faster to the top of your chosen peak than any or walker on the footpath that day. Perhaps you go sailing - and you have either bought your own boat or you hire one - either way, you pay for your hobby, not someone else.

So how is it that some riders have adopted the thinking that someone else, generally called a 'sponsor', should pay for them to enjoy their hobby?

If you make your living as a full-time professional rider, then you undoubtedly have a business plan and you'll know what things costs and how much income you need to earn from clients who use your services. The successful professionals don't rely on prize money to make a living, but they do benefit from sometimes generous sponsorships at large events where sponsors can ensure a return on their sponsorship investment with brand and product exposure to large audiences of potential customers.

For the majority of riders, who are after all amateurs enjoying competitions as a leisure activity, expecting to go home with financial 'break-even' or 'profit' if you're successful is quite frankly unrealistic. Horses, horseboxes and all the essential kit costs real £££, if not ££££ - and if you sat down and worked it all out, 50 quid in prize money is neither here nor there. At smaller fixtures in particular, where numbers are mimimal, commercial support will at best be nominal.  - altruistic cheque books are not so easily found as in the past.

So if horses and competitions are your hobby and the Bank of Mum and Dad is not your benefactor, just smile and pay up what it costs - you might even find it all even more enjoyable.

What do you think?